Card holder



Sept. 2, 1958 H. B. MATHENY CARD HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 21, 1955 FIG.|

FIG. 2

INVENTOR HOLLIS B. MATH NY ATTORNEY I p 2, 1958 H. B. MATHENY 2,850,016

CARD HOLDER Filed Sept. 21, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HOLLIS B. MATHENY I ATTORNEYS Sept. 2, 1958 H. B. MATHENY CARD HOLDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 21, 1955- FIGS n. a v 5% v W kuv a n F\ llk 2 fi 7 xam h )2 .v 2 A .1 /M A A1 u n g 0 M g I a m INVENTOR HOLLIS B. MA HENY ATTORNEYS set off the violations.

United States Patent CARD HOLDER Hollis B. Matheny, Bronxville, N. Y., assignor to Sperry Rand Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1955, Serial No. 535,723

1 Claim. (Cl. 12916.7)

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in record card supports and has particular reference to index card pockets or folders.

The object of this invention is to provide a card support which is extremely simple in construction, is very economical to manufacture, and which is especially adapted to a variety of uses for business card record systems.

A further object is to provide a card support so constructed that its width is not greater than the largest card it may support and consequently may be used in equipment of standard width.

Still another object is to provide a support which may be arranged to act as an ordinary folder as well as a guide element.

Yet another object is to provide a support which may be arranged to support cards of different sizes and yet be used in equipment of standard width.

In brief and general terms, and from one aspect there of, the invention comprises a card support having a body portion on which a card is to be supported and two preferably integral flaps along the lower left and right side edges of the body portion and adapted to be folded over across a face of the body portion, said flaps having die cuts therein to receive a corner of the card, said cuts extending to the outer edges of the body portion.

In another aspect of the invention it comprises a card support having a body portion, an integral fold along the bottom edge thereof adapted to be folded upon along a face of the body portion but of lesser height, and side edge flaps or tabs along the lower opposite side edges of the body portion and adapted to be folded inwardly across the front face of the body portion. These flaps are provided with slanting die cuts which, at one end, extend to the adjacent edge of the body portion. The top of the body portion is provided with means to receive the upper visible edge of the card, which means may be the usual transparent tip. In one form of the invention the top portion of the support is of greater width than the remainder to provide space for the staples which ordinarily fasten the tip to the body portion, as well as to make room for the receipt on the front of the body portion of a card which may be, in width, the same as the body portion. The folder fits snugly within the drawer or container holding a series of these folders and the tops of the folders lie above the sides of the container. Because the support is no wider than the card, the Width of the container may be the usual standard width.

As an example of the use of these supports, they may be used in connection with a master set of cards, many thousands in number, relating to licensed automobile drivers in a state. The cards would be indexed under license numbers in a standard width container or tray. If any driver was guilty of a violation, or some other event made it necessary to prominently display his card in the set, his card would be placed in a pocket and upped under the tip to act as a readily visible guide to In this event a small card noting Fig. 3 is a vertical enlarged cross section taken on theline 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a modified form of folder for elongate tabulator cards;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the folder with the front fold disposed in back of the record card supported on the flaps of the folder, thus creating a guide instead of a folder; v

Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the side flaps turned in back of the front fold;

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the side flaps folded across the folder and in front of the front fold thereof, thus forming a guide;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a modified folder using an auxiliary card support whereby cards of different sizes may be used therein; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the form shown in Fig. 8, with the folder partly opened.

Referring now merely to the specific forms of the invention illustrated in the drawings, it is'seen to comprehend a flexible card blank having a main body portion 10, an integral fold portion 11 at the bottom thereof adapted to be folded up across the face of the body portion 10 but preferably of slightly less height than the body portion 10. The top edge of the body portion is slightly wider than the rest of the body portion (Fig. 1) and to this edge the usual transparent tip member 12 is fastened by the usual staples 13 which are disposed at the ends of the wider top of the body portion 10 so as to permit a card of width equal to the body portion to be disposed beneath the tip. This permits the folder to be used in a drawer of standard width.

To hold the lower corners of the card 14 on the body of the folder, the body portion 10 is provided-with integral flaps or tabs 15 formed outwardly of the body portion at opposite lower side edges thereof. These'fiaps are provided withthe usual die cuts 16 which are so disposed that one end of each extends to the adjacent edge of the body portion. Thus, when the flaps 15 are folded across the body portion, as shown in Fig. 2, the lower corners of the card are slipped into the die cuts 16 and the card is thus securely supported on the folder and under the usual transparent tip.

In Fig. 4 is a modified form of card support in which the body portion 10 and fold 11 are the same as before except that the support is more elongate to receive a tabulator card and the body is the same width from top to bottom. In this case the tip 12 is fastened to the body portion by means of staples 13 connecting the body portion 10 with a deeper rear portion 17 of the tip 12. The body portion is perforated at 17' where one portion of the staple 13 passes therethrough to allow for differential expansion between the body portion and the tip. It will be seen therefore that a full width card may he slipped under the entire length of the tip as there are no staples to get in the way.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated an arrangement of the parts in which the card 14 is mounted as before, but in this case the front fold portion 11 is disposed in back of the card, thus forming a guide.

In the disposition of the parts shown in Figs. 2 and 6, extra related cards may be disposed loosely in the folder between the supported card 14 and the front fold 11.

In the disposition of the parts, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, these extra cards, if not needed for current use or ready reference, may be disposed back of the fold 11 which in this arrangement is disposed back of the supported card 14 and thus the extra cards not immediately needed are more safely and securely housed against loss during the handling of the folders. Signal elements 18 may be disposed under the tip 12 at the front of the pocket to provide the usual and necessary indications for which they are employed.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a modified form of support in order to support on the holder a variety of cards of different sizes and types. To this end the body portion 10 with the fold portion 11, the tabs and the tip 12 are employed as before. However, an auxiliary card supporting sheet 19 is used having a main body portion of the same dimensions as the body portion 10 of the support. The upper edge of sheet 19 is slipped under the tip 12 and near the lower corners thereof are provided with tabs 20 which are inserted in the die cuts of the flaps 15. The lower edge of the body portion of the sheet 19 is connected along a fold line, along which are a series of perforations 21, to a fold portion 22 provided with spaced apertures 23 to receive the nearest one of a series of articulated cards 24 of a Well known type. The cards of this series are of the type shown in U. S. Patent Nos. 1,850,935 patented October 3, 1938, 1,651,907 patented December 6, 1927, and 1,865,057 patented June 28, 1932 and are related as therein indicated. Instead of the fold portion 22 being adapted to support articulated cards, it may be made larger and of the same construction as the body portion of the sheet 19 so as to support thereon another set of cards of difierent dimensions and types if desired. The body of the sheet 19 may also be provided with spaced apertures 25 to support thereon another series of articulated cards, and with die cuts 26 to receive regular cards of different dimensions.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a new and useful card holder which is capable of being arranged to satisfy a wide variety of situations which may be encountered in the use of record cards. While I have described what I consider to be highly desirable embodiments of my invention, it is obvious that many changes in form could be made without departing from the invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to the exact forms herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of my invention as hereinbefore set forth and as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

A card support which comprises a body portion including top, bottom and side edges, the body portion being extended in width adjacent the top edge, a transparent tip disposed along the top edge thereof and fastened thereto at the extended portions of the body, said tip extending down along the front of the body portion to receive the top edge of a card disposed across the front face of the body portion, an integral fold portion of substantially the same area of the body portion forming a lengthwise extension of said body from a fold line transversely disposed on the body portion, said fold portion being adapted to fold upwardly adjacent said body portion to cover a substantial portion of the front face thereof, and an integral flap extending outwardly from each side edge of the body portion and adjacent to the fold line between the body portion and the integral fold portion and being adapted to be folded across the front face of the body portion, said flaps having die cuts which at one end extend to the adjacent side edges of the body portion and are adapted to thereby receive the lower corners of a card in supporting relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,742,087 Lombardini Dec. 31, 1929 2,137,826 Williams Nov. 22, 1938 2,296,245 Finch Sept. 22, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 373,887 Great Britain June 2, 1932 607,855 Germany Jan. 9, 1935 1,043,999 France June 17, 1953 

